


Forest Flowers

by Graysen



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Cute, Cutesy, F/F, Fluff, Walk, forest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-04
Updated: 2014-12-04
Packaged: 2018-02-28 01:58:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,826
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2714777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Graysen/pseuds/Graysen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carmilla takes Laura out for a walk through a forest.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Laura and Carmilla walked together down the wide gravel path, further and deeper into the forest.

  
It was quiet here, thought Laura. Really quiet. Even in their dorm room, alone, or anywhere on campus, it was hard to find any peace. Laura grinned faintly, thinking of how often the door of their room had been swung wide suddenly so many times.

  
Now, it was just her and Carmilla. The two of them.

  
As if sensing her thoughts, Carmilla glanced back. Laura’s attention immediately focused back to the present as she met those dark, languid eyes. Carmilla smirked, looking Laura over once before turning her attention back towards their surroundings.

  
The end of the term had come, and along with all the parties and lighthearted celebrations, the world outside seemed to celebrate too. Bright green leaves had burst along with blossoms in the trees and the flowers below. Why hadn’t Laura been out here before? This trail was only a short walk outside of campus, and it was so beautiful. In answer, a number of events listed through her head.

Well, there were the missing girls, and then Carmilla, and then the Dean, and also midterms, and Danny, and LaF, and then Carmilla again…

  
She mentally waved the thoughts away. Okay, so she hadn’t exactly had much spare time lately. But she did now. And everything was, well. Perfect, really.

  
Carmilla was walking a few steps ahead of Laura along the gravel path. They’d walked a few blocks through campus before this side-road emerged. Carmilla had said it lead to a trail that wound miles out into a forest. And, agreeing to get away, the two had come here.

  
“When did you say you've been here before?” asked Laura.

  
“Oh, a bunch of times, just every so often,” replied Carmilla. “It’s one of the better places I’ve found when I’ve needed to just… get away from it all.”

  
Presumably at night, thought Laura. Before too much of, well, everything that had happened.

  
It was fairly late in the afternoon now. On the walk there they’d passed a few other university students who’d been leaving to head back into town. A few of them had even had dogs, which had brought a wide smile to Laura’s face, but a frown to Carmilla’s. The dogs had looked toward her, whimpered, and veered away. Laura had turned to regard her, but Carmilla had only offered a raised eyebrow and the suggestion of a shrug.

  
So Laura had passed the dogs quickly, Carmilla by her side. Laura didn’t mind, but, well… It would have been nice to pet at least one of them.

  
Dusk would settle soon. Golden rays of sun were shinning on the trees and casting small shadows for the few stubborn daisies that poked their way through the gravel road. Soon enough, the path curved sharply to the right, where it ended at the foot of a relatively small water tower. Craning her neck high, Laura estimated it to be a bit more than one hundred feet tall.

  
“Ever thought of climbing up that thing?” she joked.

  
Carmilla looked to her. They’d stopped walking for a moment.

  
“Yeah,” she said. “Turns out the view isn’t quite worth the effort.”

  
Laura paused, trying to figure out if she was joking. Carmilla waited expectantly as a corner of her lips rose in time with a brow, but then she nudged Laura. “This way,” she said.

  
To the left hid a worn-in path framed closely by bushes and trees.

  
Suddenly Laura’s face flushed with colour. She could feel the heat in her cheeks, but luckily Carmilla was only looking ahead. There was barely enough space on this path to walk side by side, and as she waited for her face to cool, Laura followed Carmilla, staying a bit to her left and behind her. A thought had occurred to Laura.

  
“Hey, Carm?”

  
Carmilla gave something of a hum in response before looking back and slowing to a stop. She must have heard the nervousness in Laura’s voice.

  
“Could you, ah, hold something for me?” Laura put her right hand down into her jeans pocket, before pulling it out and opening it up. It was empty.

  
Carmilla had already risen her own hand before Laura had finished, but now she paused as she looked at Laura’s. A moment passed.

  
“You’re ridiculous, you know that, cupcake?” But Carmilla took Laura’s hand swiftly, intertwining their fingers effortlessly. She began to walk forwards again, and Laura followed, walking as close to Carmilla as possible. A warmth had spread up from Laura’s stomach and had blossomed in her chest. She let a delighted laugh bubble up from her, and squeezed Carmilla’s hand gently. A reassuring squeeze echoed back.

  
Laura forced herself to think properly again – to look at the nature around them. The path they followed now was surrounded by dense, small trees. Larger ones rose further out from the path, and overhead arched a low canopy of leaves, which was dappled by soft, warm sunlight. Laura’s smile widened.

  
The university, the city, the past, everything else but the forest and Carmilla felt far away. No problems, responsibilities, or obligations mattered here. Ahead, the arching canopy opened to a small clearing. Above, the late afternoon sky was darkening, and the few clouds that spread out against it were turning soft shades of yellow and orange.

  
“First stop,” said Carmilla, “the moss-covered couch.”


	2. Chapter 2

Carmilla lead Laura to the right side of the clearing. There wasn’t any path here, but the land seemed to be worn down, with long blades of grass and even newer trees reaching up and out of the ground. They turned left, to see through the grass where an old couch sat that the forest had reclaimed. 

The couch was a light tan colour, and it was simple and plain in its design. On the bottom, stains of dark moss clung to it, and all around the edges the grass rose up suddenly beside it, a few tall, yellow flowers nodding in the breeze. 

Laura frowned, and Carmilla answered her unspoken question. “Forests are easy solutions for people,” she said. “Places to dump unwanted things.” Carmilla moved towards Laura. “Places to escape.” Laura was suddenly aware of how close Carmilla was, and she could feel her face warming again. “A place to be alone,” finished Carmilla.

Carmilla’s eyes slid down where Laura could feel a ridiculous smile growing on her face.

“Stop!” she said coyly, bumping up against Carmilla’s shoulder to cause her to sway lightly. Damn seduction eyes, she thought. “Was there something else you wanted to show me?” Laura asked. 

Carmilla ran her free hand through her hair. Laura was suddenly reminded of their entwined fingers between them.

Laura pulled away her hand gently and rubbed it against her jeans. “Sorry,” she said quickly. “Sweaty palms.” Carmilla grinned and reached out again once Laura was done. Laura took Carmilla’s hand, another burst of joy running through her. For a moment Laura realized the connection of the feeling with the image of one of the yellow flowers in front of her.

“Yeah,” said Carmilla. “I think you’re going to like this next one.” 

They left the clearing, moving forwards into the forest, continuing on the path. Now the overhanging trees cast down darker shadows, and the trunks spread out around them, towering higher and higher above. The land sloped down in a small hill before evening out. Here, the path curved off to the right, and the dry dirt had turned to mud. But Carmilla didn’t hesitate, instead walked along the side, between the path and the trees. Laura expected Carmilla to let go of her hand; the edge they had to walk along was narrow, and there were a number of small tree branches to duck around. But Carmilla went at a slow pace, letting Laura catch up, and never letting their fingertips stretch out of reach. 

Soon the path returned to normal, the small patch of mud behind them.

Now, Laura felt as if they were in another forest completely. The trees here were more mature, reaching far up into the sky. The ground below them was covered in shade, with old leaves and scatterings of twigs and branches. The path here was harder to see, but Carmilla ignored it, leading Laura over to the left. 

“Where are we-“ she began, but stopped. There was something through the sparse trees. A glimpse of blue and white…

Carmilla looked back at Laura with a smile before pulling her ahead. “Do you see it?”

“Yeah,” breathed Laura. “What is it?” 

As they grew closer, she could make out the shape of it better. Amid the trees was a structure – it reminded Laura of a teepee. Large branches circled the trunk of a tree, leaning against it to form the walls. And over the walls was the white and blue Laura had spotted – tarps, draped over it all. Some spots were left uncovered, and right ahead of them was a small entrance to it. And on the bed of pine needles of the inside sat a single, worn out lawn chair. 

Carmilla pulled gently on Laura’s hand, but Laura had stopped. “Carm,” she said quietly. 

Carmilla stopped and turned to her. “What?” 

There was a bit of a gleam in her eyes. Laura tilted her head to a side with a look that said, “You know what.” 

Carmilla looked away, as if about to roll her eyes fondly, but she nodded. “Alright, cutie. You stay here, but I’m going to go and check it out.” She moved forwards before Laura could protest, and in that moment Laura felt Carmilla’s hand slip out of hers.

“Carm!” Laura quickly took a few steps forward, promptly running face-first into a small tree branch she hadn’t seen. Laura swore quietly to herself and ducked under it to stand behind Carmilla, who was now squatting down to see the inside of the make-shift teepee. 

“So this was here last time?” asked Laura.

Carmilla nodded. “It’s been here for a little while. I’m guessing some of those alchemy dorks made it.”

They stayed there in silence for a moment. Carmilla stood up again, and opened her mouth, about to speak, but was interrupted by a shrieking howl.

Laura jumped, instinctively moving towards Carmilla, who in moments had her arms around Laura, holding her tight. A volley of yelps and howls rose in response to the first howl, making Laura jolt again.

“Hey. Hey, Laura. It’s okay. It’s just coyotes.” Carmilla’s head was pressed up against Laura’s and she rose a hand to stroke her hair softly. 

Laura stepped away after a moment. “Can we go?” she asked quietly. 

“Of course,” said Carmilla. Her eyes were soft, and in a moment her arm was wrapped around Laura’s waist. Together they walked back up the path, past the stretch of mud and the small clearing before arriving back at the water tower.

**Author's Note:**

> I think there'll be one more chapter to wrap this up. Thank you so much for reading this so far. The kudos and everything mean so much to me. c:


End file.
